As demand for ever-shrinking semiconductor devices continues to increase, so too will the demand for improved semiconductor wafer inspection processes. The fabrication of semiconductor devices, such as logic and memory devices, typically includes processing a semiconductor wafer using a large number of semiconductor fabrication steps to form various features and multiple levels of the semiconductor devices. Optical inspection is utilized to monitor and correct the various steps of a semiconductor device manufacture process. As the dimensions of semiconductor devices continue to decrease, inspection processes become even more important to the successful manufacture of acceptable semiconductor devices. In order to improve the quality of inspection in an inspection system, the tilt and height of a semiconductor wafer surface may be controlled in order to improve focus control of a detector of the inspection, thereby improving the quality of inspection data. Typically, height and tilt of a semiconductor wafer surface are controlled independently. The independent height and tilt control make accurate compensation of tilt and height errors difficult, often leading to less than desirable levels of sensitivity and repeatability.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a system and/or method that provides for improved height and tilt control. Accordingly, the present invention seeks to cure the deficiencies of the prior art